


I'm Home

by Xantya24



Series: Snippets of Life [2]
Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Deaged Leona, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:27:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24931504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xantya24/pseuds/Xantya24
Summary: An alchemy class gone wrong. A certain lion gets covered in potions. Things get out a hand when a lil lion cub appears.Ruggie has his hands full and now he has a lion cub. It should be easy taking care of baby Leona, right?? Ruggie enlist some help from a certain someone to deal with Leona. Bonds are made, a past that was kept silent is been told and Ruggie has a better understanding of Leona. Maybe keeping him as child isn't so bad........right?
Relationships: Basically everyone is in it - Relationship, Leona Kingscholar & Malleus Draconia, Leona Kingscholar & Original Character(s), Ruggie Bucchi & Original Character, Ruggie Bucchi/Leona Kingscholar
Series: Snippets of Life [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867738
Comments: 8
Kudos: 82





	I'm Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all. Long time no read. Hahaha. I'm in twisted hell. My friend and I ended up throwing ideas at each other and this one shot was born. I've seen so many angsty comics of Leona that I thought he should get a bit of happiness in life and this was made. hahaha. Hope you like my ocs just as I loved making them. They're fun to write and this long shot was fun to do too. Yesh, prepare the knives and salt. 
> 
> Prepare the angst train, feels, hurt and comfort.  
> Songs to listen to are Remember - uru and Carry on - Ruelle. 
> 
> DOn't worry the ending made me cry too. Hahah. I made my ownself cryyyyy. 
> 
> Well hope you guys enjoy this. So enjoy reading it.

Yuu was walking down the hallways heading to the cafeteria after a nice day of learning magic. Grim was fighting with Ace as usual. Deuce let out a sigh at their bickering while Jack was chatting away with Epal. The gang of first years were enjoying their day since today was the last class they had for the day and the rest is free. Just as they pass by the door when –

**_BOOM!_ **

**_CRASH!_ **

**_Curses._ **

The first years jumped so high at the sound. They looked at the door, already knowing that it is the alchemy class. They can hear Professor Crewel yelling and some students screaming. They looked at each other and slowly began to inch their way from the door. Best not to get involved with whatever is happening in there.

They were about to escape when the door suddenly swung open and students flew out. Some had weird coloured stains on their lab coats. Some had frizzy hair and smoking ones too.

Jack spotted a few second and third years running out. Yuu had grabbed Jack’s arm and tugged him back to pull him away when a scream tore out from someone inside. The scream was loud and it hurt their ears. Thinking it could be something, Jack dragged Yuu into the room who was being held by Grim who was trying to pull Yuu away but that failed when you have a guy who is bigger than them.

Jack waved the smoke away with his hands only to see his fellow senior, Ruggie. Ruggie was fretting about something on the floor. He was pulling his hair and looking around like a wild animal. Azul was crouched down looking at something and Malleus was peering from above. Vil was coughing from the smoke. Lillia is very intrigued with what is happening.

“Move aside, pups!”, Professor Crewel pushed a few students staring at the scene.

Crowley who happened to swoop in was behind Crewel’s heels. The two teachers peered down at the floor which had a bundle of white clothes. Specifically, a bundle of white lab coat. The coat shifted a bit before a small head full of black hair popped out.

Big forest jade hues stared at everyone. Tan skin, silky brown medium length hair and two lion ears flicked at the top.

“Kingscholar?”, Crowley softly pipped out.

Leona Kingscholar, third year and Savanaclaw’s dorm head turned his head at the sound of his name. The 20 year old had turned into a 8 year old lion cub. Surprisingly his clothes shrank with him except for the lab coat and sandals. The two adults peered closer at the student who shrank back from the stare. Crowley and Crewel looked at each other.

“Is his speech affected?”, Crowley questioned.-

“No, it shouldn’t be unless some other ingredients were put into the mix but that shouldn’t be!”, Crewel answered, unsure.

“What happ – “, Crowley got cut off by a small voice.

“Um….where is this?”, the timid voice spoke.

All eyes zoomed onto Leona who was looking at them with wide eyes. His ears went flat, making him look even cuter. Some students blushed at the sight and the only thought that went through everyone’s head was

‘ _Cuteeeee~’._

“Well there was an accident and – “, Crowley started when Leona was picked up by Malleus, child and clothes.

“So he shrank into a child?”, the fae student turned Leona around until they were facing each other.

Everyone held their breath. This doesn’t seem like a good thing. Just then all hell broke loose when Leona let out a loud hiss and a growl. Nails scratched Malleus’s cheek.

“YOUNG MASTER!!!”, Sebek’s voice yelled out, seeing his dorm head get injured.

“Leona senpai!”, Jack yelled out, rushing in to grab the child.

Instead, Leona managed to kick Jack’s hands away, wriggled out of Malleus’s grip which he promptly dropped him. Ruggie made a mad dash to try and save Leona from getting hurt but the child tumbled down, tucked into a roll and ran out from the open door.

“Shit, shit shit”, Ruggie cursed. “Oi, Jack, Yuu, Epal. Catch Leona san!!”,

~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

Leona got lost around the school grounds. He was shaken, scared and lost. He ran past a building that looked like a greenhouse. He panted, sweat dripped down his chin. His ears swivel around listening for the people chasing him.

The sound of running steps can be heard. His heartbeat sped up. He ran into the botanical garden. The smell of grass and water hit his nose first. He breathed in the scent and relaxed a bit.

_“Where did he go??”._

_“I think that way”._

_“No wait”._

Leona panicked. They must have found him. He ran deeper into the garden. There were lots of trees, leaves, plants and other flowers growing here. A tree caught his eye. Maybe if he can hide there, they won’t find him. He climbed up as high as he could, up two branches and waited.

The group ran past him (Jack, Epal, Yuu, Grim, Ace and Deuce). Leona let out a small sigh. He pulled his knees together and wrapped his arms around. Tears glistened his eyes and he buried his face into his knees. He wanted to go home. He wanted to be with his mother. He’s afraid of this place and he doesn’t know anyone.

His head hurts. Everything hurts. He doesn’t know what’s going on also. Soon soft sobs broke free and he curled himself tighter.

“I want mama”, Leona whispered to himself. “Mama…..”. 

It felt like hours when the group met up with Ruggie, Kalim, Jamil, Riddle and Trey. Ruggie looked like he was run over, hair messed up and looking worried. This is the first time Jack has seen his senior looking like that.

“What do you mean you can’t find him!?”, Ruggie yelled at them.

“Ruggie senpai…”.

“A kid! How can you not find a kid with lion ears!? It’s not that hard!!!!”.

“Um..Ruggie, I think you need to calm down”, Trey tries to placate Ruggie.

“NO! We don’t know what would happen to a kid in this place!! There are people I don’t want to explain to because I lost Leona san!!!”, Ruggie snarled at Trey, yanking his shirt and pulling him down to his level. “So don’t tell me to calm down until we find him”.

A shadowy figure fell upon the gang who looked up. Malleus in all of his glory floated down to them. There was something bundled up in his arms. Ruggie frowned and eyed Malleus like the fae was about to do something unknown to them. As much as he doesn’t like it, he kinda hopes that Malleus might have some clue as to where the lion cub is.

“I believe this is yours?”, Malleus’s feet touched the ground and he presented to them a sleeping cub.

Ruggie shoved Trey away to full on stand in front of Malleus. His handling of Leona was so gentle that the child didn’t stir at all. Ruggie took a step back and peered down at the sleeping child. Tears tracks were dried on his chubby cheeks and some stubborn tears clung to his eyelashes making them glitter.

Leona snuggled deeper into the warmth that is Ruggie’s chest. The hyena let out a small sigh. He hugged the child tighter and turned to Malleus to nod his thanks before walking back to the Savanahclaw dorm. Jack hot on his heels.

No one wanted to comment about the tear tracks on Leona’s face. It was something best left out.

~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

_Savannahclaw Dorm, Leona’s room. – Morning._

Ruggie had stayed the night in Leona’s room. He would rather stay there than let the child sleep alone. Who knows what will happen if he leaves him again. Leona was still asleep, buried deep in his blankets. Ruggie didn’t get much sleep at night cause the young cub kept whimpering in his sleep and muttering about being sorry.

That made the hyena more curious about Leona’s childhood. Leona rarely speaks of his childhood and Ruggie never pry about it. It was something that the two of them had agreed on, silently. Ruggie got up and got ready for class but paused. There was one thing that they didn’t know what to do when this incident happened.

Better to find the headmaster and ask him about this. Somehow in the middle of the night, Ruggie managed to snag one of Leona’s old school shirts and made it into a smaller size, same with the pants. He used his magic to shrink Leona’s sandals into his size.

Sitting down on the bed, Ruggie looked at the 2nd prince of Afterglow Savannah. He was so young. That made Ruggie wonder if Leona was a snotty prince at a young age that didn’t care about throwing his money around like his adult self or was he always suspicious from a young age??

Ruggie’s thoughts were put to a halt when Leona suddenly sat up. The child rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked around before those green hues landed on Ruggie. The hyena gave the child a big grin.

“Wakey wakey, Leona san. Time to get ready~”.

Leona shrank back but blinked up at Ruggie. “Who are you? Are you a new servant?”.

Ruggie’s left eye twitched at that. _Servant!? Even at this age, he never minces his words_ , Ruggie thought, annoyed. Before he could say something, Leona cut him.

“Did my father send you?”.

That piped Ruggie’s interest. Why would Leona ask him if the ex king sent him. Ruggie kept quiet, wanting to see what Leona would say.

“So it’s a yes”, Leona’s ears flattened on top of his head. “Figures”.

That wasn’t what Ruggie expected. To see Leona look scared. This made him uncomfortable. He is not used to scared Leona. The normal, cold, scheming Leona is someone he’s used too.

“Um….He didn’t send me”, Ruggie said.

Big green eyes looked at him again. Ruggie felt sweat dripped down his back. Shit, what should he do!?????

“Uhh…The……Queen! Yeah, her majesty sent me”, Ruggie lied, hoping the cub would buy it.

Leona’s ears perked up. “Mama sent you?”. Ruggie nodded. “I wanna see mama”.

‘ _oh shit. Shit shit shit shit”._

“Um…her majesty is out……..on….a…hunt! She’s on a hunt now”. _Please take it, please take it, please take it._

“Oh”, Leona deflated. “Okay. Are we going somewhere?”, he was eyeing the clothes Ruggie has in his hands.

“Yes! Get dress”, Ruggie practically shoved the clothes unto Leona.

The cub gave him a glare but did change his clothes with a bit of Ruggie’s help when he watched the child struggle to button the amount of buttons. He brushed and braided Leona’s braids. Internally Ruggie couldn’t help but to admit that baby Leona is adorable.

Taking him to the cafeteria to have breakfast and watching him gave Ruggie some time to plan out his approach to the headmaster. Now to somehow snatch that old crow from flying. A couple of trays clank in front of him. Ruggie looked up to see Jack, Epal and Yuu sitting in front of him.

The first years were polite in greeting him but their eyes zoomed in unto Leona who was eating his meal, quietly. The young cub had briefly looked up at them and continued to eat his breakfast.

“Ruggie senpai, how long is Leona senpai supposed to be like this?”, Jack asked, sipping his tea.

Epal had a big smile on his face. He kept on staring at Leona. Yuu was fascinated at seeing a young lion cub. Grim being his usual self, jumped in front of Leona.

“Haha. Now he’s so tiny! He can’t use us”, Grim grinned at Leona.

Leona leaned back away from Grim, not liking him at all. He wrinkled his nose in disgust but kept his mouth shut. Grim looked at Leona’s plate before swiping some food.

“Hey! Grim no!”, Yuu yelled, reaching out to catch him.

Chaos was about to start when they heard a cough coming from behind. Looking back, Jamil and Kalim were staring at them.

“Ruggie, Professor Crewel wants to see you and Leona”, Jamil said politely. His eyes were staring at Leona who stared back.

“Okay. Come on, Leona. Let’s go see the professor, yea”, Ruggie took Leona’s hand and dragged the little one away from peering eyes.

“Jamil”, Kalim started. “Leona is too cute. I wanna pet him!”.

Jamil let out a sigh. “No, Kalim. He’s not a….pet….He’s a child now……”.

“Um…..Kalim, Jamil, you were with them when it happened yeah?”, Yuu asked.

Both the Scarabia leaders turned to look at Yuu and nodded.

“What happened? We only saw the aftermath”.

“Well…”, Kalim chirped, unsure also. “I think he was partnered with Vil, right? Vil probably mixed something with the ingredients and the pot exploded. Leona was thrown back, right Jamil?”.

“We’re not sure what else happened. All we knew was there was smoke, an explosion and Leona was covered in lots of liquid. Then he just collapsed with a groan and then –“, Jamil explained.

“Baby Leona appeared!”, Kalim ended happily.

Well that didn't help much for them. At least they weren’t asked to babysit the lion cub.

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~

_Alchemy lab,_

“It should wear off in 5 days time”, Professor Crewel said after checking Leona was okay.

The lion cub was sitting on a table, looking in wonder at the multiple shelves in the lab. Surprisingly Crowley was there too which makes Ruggie’s job a lot easier.

“So in 5 days then? Then what about classes?”, Ruggie asked.

“You would have to bring him to your classes then Mr.Bucchi till the effects wear off”, Crowley happily explained.

“Wait, wait! Ha!?? Then what about the dorm meeting that is being held on Friday?”.

“Hmm, well Savannah Claw didn’t really appoint their vice lead and since you are always around Mr Kingscholar, you should take his place, temporarily”.

“Hold it! Wait, what!? Then how-“.

“Well I leave the rest to you, Mr. Bucchi. Goodbye. Have a good day~”, Crowley flew off leaving the three of them alone.

Ruggie’s ears dropped down. He couldn’t have been saddled with more work now. Taking care of a kid and doing his studies and now dorm meetings. It couldn’t get any worse could it?

~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~

Days went by and Leona kept asking Ruggie if he could see his mother. Ruggie kept making excuses just to shut Leona up. He didn’t mean it but being asked a few times in a day can be annoying. He did pass Leona to Jack and the 1st years. They kept him entertained and tired him out that the cub slept through the day.

Ruggie thought it was okay until Friday when Leona was still a kid. The dorm heads were informed about Leona being back to normal by Friday but nothing happened. Leona stared at everyone including Crewel also.

“This is strange. It should have worn off”, Crewel was puzzled.

“He did have a lot of stuff fall on him”, Kalim informed, playing with Leona who giggled softly.

“I need to look more into this. Azul you’re with me since you can help handle the difficult spells. This spell definitely requires more than one mind”.

“Yes, professor”, Azul pushed his glasses up, looking forward to holding this against Leona when the lion turned back to normal.

“Hey, Ruggie?”, Leona asked, looking at Ruggie upside down from Kalim’s arms. “When can I see mama?”.

“……She’s busy”, Ruggie replied, tiredly. He was getting annoyed with Leona asking him that. He didn’t see the little fist clenched tightly together nor the frown or the lip biting.

“Busy with what?”.

“Just busy…..”.

“You’re lying…”.

“Huh? Leona san?”, Ruggie was puzzled at the sudden cold tone from Leona.

The lion struggled from Kalim’s grip before the teen put him down. Leona’s fists were tightly clenched on both sides. His tail was wrapped around his leg and his ears were flat against his head. He was trembling. He just wanted his mother. He never asked for anything.

Sure the classes were fun. The people were fun but he just wanted his mother. He wanted her hugs, her comfort, her scent. He just wanted to go home.

“I want to go home”, Leona said loudly.

“Leona san. We’ve been through this”, Ruggie said, getting a bit frustrated.

The dorm heads watched this scene, unsure of how to help. Leona has asked to go home multiple times but he always stops asking when they tell him to stop but this time the child was insistent.

“I want to go home. I want to see mama”.

“Leona san, enough”, Ruggie cut him with a glare. His tone was a final note for Leona to stop asking.

It has the opposite effect.

“LIAR! YOU’RE JUST KEEPING ME HERE! FATHER SENT YOU TO KEEP ME AWAY!”.

Magic blasted out from Leona’s scream. The dorm heads deflected the magic since it wasn’t as powerful when Leona had a master over it. But this was raw, untrained magic that Leona casted. 

Hot tears streamed down Leona’s cheeks. It was something that Leona said made Ruggies’ hair stand up. What did Leona mean by the previous king keeping him away? Raw magic twirled and bounced around Leona like a protective shield.

“Ruggie, do something”, Kalim said, eyeing the child.

“This is getting out of hand”, Vil eyed Leona, magic pen ready for anything.

“We better calm him down before something happens, Ruggie”, Azul informed him.

Ruggie looked back at Leona. Teardrops fell onto the floor. The child looked so lost and sad that it made Ruggie’s heart clenched tightly.

“Leona san, I’m sorry. But I really don’t know where the Queen is”.

Leona looked up at Ruggie. Green hues glistened like emerald gems. Ruggie’s mind was running laps. He didn’t like the look in Leona’s eyes. There must be something or someone who can –

Like a light bulb went off in Ruggie’s head. He knew who to get. He looked at the others.

“Distract him. I have an idea”, Ruggie ran off.

Leona watched him. His magic died down and tears kept pouring from his eyes. Ruggie left him. It was the same as the others for Leona. When they find out about his magic, they all leave. Leona deflated. Everyone calmed down when Leona’s magic died down. Now the only thing left was what to do with the child. The 2nd years turned to Vil, Malleus and Idia since the three of them were the oldest here.

Malleus was what surprised them. He waved his hand and a chess board with the chess pieces lined up appeared. Leona’s eyes caught them.

“Would you like a game of chess, Kingscholar?”.

~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~

_Chamber of mirror,_

Ruggie pulled someone from the mirror. He was in a hurry. He had hunted for this person down. It was not easier trying to get this person to come here but just by saying Leona was in trouble was enough for this person to follow Ruggie.

“Are you sure?”, the person asked.

“Yes. I don’t know how long the others can stall him but hurry”.

~~~~ ~~~~

Ruggie burst through the doors, panting. He hoped there wasn’t any blood shed but all he saw was Malleus playing a game of chess with Leona who happened to be sitting in Vil’s lap. Riddle and Kalim were peering at the game while Azul was taking notes. Idia sat huddled in one corner helping Leona with a few moves.

The scene seemed peaceful.

In fact, it was downright okay. No blood shed. No screaming. No nothing.

Vil noticed Ruggie. “You’re back”, he informed the others. His eyes narrowed at the unknown person. “Who is that?”.

All turned their heads to see the person next to Ruggie. Leona’s eyes widened. He jumped out from Vil’s lap only to run straight into that person. The lioness went down unto one knee and enveloped Leona into a hug.

Her long black hair was an exact colour of Leona’s. She also had the same eye colour as Leona. She hugged Leona tightly and buried her nose into his hair.

“Nee san!”, Leona chirped happily, emitting a low growl that the others can hear. His tail whipped from left to right happily.

The lioness lifted Leona up into her arms and held him tightly. She pulled back to give him a smile before rubbing her nose with his making Leona giggle. Ruggie let out a sigh in relief.

“Nee san, what are you doing here?”, Leona wrapped his arms around her neck, breathing in her scent of flame lilies, sand and smoked wood. Her scent immediately calmed him down and sooth his inner turmoil. He buried his face into her neck.

“Someone told me you were causing a bit of ruckus”, his sister commented.

Leona tightened his hold around her neck. “I only wanted to go home”.

“Um…excuse me? Who are you?”, Vil asked, politely but with a slight higher tone.

The lioness turned to the group and let out a small smirk. The group had to take a double take. The smirk and those sly eyes, made her look like a female version of Leona. She tipped her head back that looked like it was a challenge to Vil.

“Leanna Kingscholar. 1st Princess to Afterglow Savannah. Got a problem?”, the lioness introduced herself.

Leanna shifted Leona to rest against her hip. The cub laid in her hold, content and warm with her hand rubbing his back up and down. Vil was blinking a few times.

_Princess?_ Was everyone’s thought except Ruggie. Riddle turned to Ruggie like he is to explain what this meant. Ruggie gave a sly smirk at the Heartslabyul dorm head. Riddle bristled a bit at that and turned his head to one side. Kalim was the only one intrigued with Leanna.

“You’re really pretty”, Kalim commented, bouncing up towards Leanna.

Leanna blinked at the Scarabia dorm head before letting out a laugh. “You’re cute”, she purred. “Mind filling me in what exactly happened to my brother. Why is he a small cub now?”, she bounced Leona who let out a tiny growl at being disturbed.

All looked at one another, unsure of how to explain. Leanna waited for a few moments before rolling her eyes. She jerked her chin towards Malleus.

“You, horn boy. You seemed smart. What happened to Leona?”.

Malleus made a small frown, not liking being called horn boy. Ruggie covered his mouth, body hunched over, trying to cover his laughter but his body shook in betrayal at that. Malleus debated over not telling Leanna but one look at the lioness told him better to tell her. He has a feeling that she can take him on without hesitation. He remembered Leona muttering how the women in Sunset Savannah Court were strong or something.

“An accident. A potion gone wrong”, Malleus made it short and direct.

Leanna looked at Leona who had fallen asleep on her shoulder and back at the Malleus then back at Leona and then at Ruggie. She bit her lip hard. Her shoulders shook before she burst out laughing. Her laugh was loud and her eyes had a teasing glint to them. Ruggie was more amazed at Leona not waking up from Leanna’s outburst.

“Wait, wait. You’re telling me that lil cub here got into an accident that turned him into a kid? Hahahaaha. Ahhh I’m never letting him forget about this”, she wiped a lone tear with one hand before going back to patting Leona’s back. “Oi, Ruggie. Let’s go”.

Leanna turned to grin predatory at Vil. “Bye pretty boy”. Her eyes turned to Malleus before winking at him, making the Diasomnia dorm lead blush. Her gaze landed on Kalim who looked like a happy puppy. That look made her laugh silently. Her tail went up to sweep under Kalim’s chin.

“Bye, puppy”.

She left with Ruggie after that without looking back at their reactions. The door closed shut with a soft click. A few minutes ticked by.

“What just happened?”, Riddle asked, puzzled.

“I believe we just met the princess of Afterglow Savannah”, Azul remarked.

“She really looks like Leona”, Kalim chirped. “It’s cool that they’re siblings”.

“Siblings? Unbelievable. I only thought he had an older brother”, Vil crossed his arms.

“…….”, Malleus was the only quiet one.

“She is definitely the female lead”, India muttered, grinning away. 

“Sooo, what do we do?”, Kalim asked them. All had puzzled expressions on their faces except for Malleus for his blank look. “I mean, do we let Leona’s sister stay here? It would be a great help for us”.

“That’s a good idea. I would prefer if she stays here”, Vil said, nodding in agreement.

“That’s breaking the rules”, Riddle complained. “We need the headmaster’s agreement for letting her stay here”.

“That has been arranged”, Crowley suddenly popped out causing Kalim and Riddle to jump in surprise. “I have allowed Miss Kingscholar to stay here until the effects of the potion wears off and Leona Kingscholar has turned back to normal”.

“But where will she be staying?”, Riddle asked.

“Why the Savannah Claw dorm of course. Mr Bucchi will take full responsibility if something happens to Miss Kingscholar”.

“Is that wise? That dorm is absolutely rude and will definitely treat her horribly”, Vil expressed displeasure.

“No. I rather not get on her bad side. Leanna Kingscholar is a very capable woman. If there is nothing, I shall take my leave then, Goodbye. Dorm meeting dismiss”.

~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

_Savannah Claw Dorm – Evening_

Leanna gently laid Leona onto his bed and tucked him in. She gently strokes his hair and smiled softly. Leona snuggled deeply into the covers. Leanna sat down on the bed watching him. Ruggie had placed a few refreshments for them. He paused, ears twitching. He was replaying what Leona had yelled at him before he went off to get Leanna. Something deep in him told him that was something that no child should say but yet it twisted his heart.

Ruggie turned around, mouth open when Leanna cut him off.

“I know what you want to ask. It’s about Leona isn’t it?”.

“Mm. He said something about “ **_FATHER SENT YOU TO KEEP ME AWAY!”_ **. What did he mean by that?”.

Leanna’s eyes widened. Her look told Ruggie that it was something that he shouldn’t know about. But he was curious and it gnawed at the back of his head like an itch that he can’t get rid of. Leanna’s eyes stared at Ruggie and it looked like she was looking for something in him before she let out a sigh.

“Leona obviously trusts you. You don’t’ tell anyone about this”, she glared at Ruggie who nodded. Leanna’s gaze went back to her brother before telling Ruggie. “Our father wasn’t the best father but he had his ways of caring for us. More so for Leona”.

“………”.

“Our father didn’t treat Leona the best when his magic started. He’s the only one with magic in the family and you know how his unique magic is. Father thought it was a dangerous thing cause he didn’t understand it”, Leanna’s fist tightened. “He used to put Leona in the deepest part of the court. Away from servants and us. Mother hated it.

Father kept him hidden when he started to learn magic from our mage. Mother would visit him and keep him company, so would I. Even nii sama would try but him being kept locked up had a different impact on his upbringing. Leona was always suspicious of people. He became more suspicious of everything at 10.

He didn’t have any friends. So I was surprised that he had you and was happy. Leona doesn’t tell anyone about his feelings. He’s cuddly when he wants something and can’t express it. Clingy too”, Leanna smiled. 

Ruggie grimaced at that. He once was the subject to Leona’s clinginess one time, never again. Leanna saw his look and laughed quietly.

“His unique magic first form at 10, I think. He couldn’t control it at”, Leanna frowned. “There was an accident. A servant and a guard were there. Leona was in pain at that time. Something about being thirsty and hungry even when he just ate and drank but it got worse. We didn’t know it was his unique magic forming.

“‘ _King’s Roar’_ , huh. I hated his unique magic. He accidentally unleashed it onto the guard. The servant was terrified when the guard died. It scarred Leona for good. Father took him out from there and put him back to the main court. The guard’s death was accidental and it got a bit worse from there.

Leona was 11 when he was taken from us”.

Ruggie’s eyes widened. He didn’t know the 2nd prince was kidnapped. “How?”.

“Some neighbouring prides thought it was good to take one of the royal children and Leona is the youngest. They took him in front of us. Mother was furious and chased after them. They held Leona at sword point. A fight broke out and Leona got injured. That scar on his eye. The fight got bad until Leona used his unique magic. Mother was terrified of it but all she wanted was for him to be safe.

Leona got scared of his own magic. Father thought it was dangerous and locked him up. It didn’t help that others started to compare Leona with Nii sama. Of course, you know how that went. Leona began to despise things done in the court. He stopped being that smiling child after those incidents. 

He hated father. Father really cares for Leona but as king and with people under his care, his duties took over. Leona thought if he was king then maybe others would look at him differently but yeah. Mother thought it was best to train Leona in combat and maybe he has a better grasp of his magic. It did help. 

But Leona changed a lot. I know he doesn’t hate Nii sama, he just despises his personality. Leona is”, Leanna trailed off, unsure of how to continue. She was stroking Leona’s cheek and brushing his hair to one side while the cub snuggled into her palm. 

“But Cheka is attached to him though?”, Ruggie mentioned, watching Leona with his grey blue eyes. 

“Haha”, Leanna chuckled at the thought of her nephew. “Cheka probably reminds Leona of his past self. Something that he hates but he does care for Cheka a lot. As much as Cheka annoys him, Leona just wants what’s best for him”, Leanna turned to regard Ruggie. “Thanks”. 

Ruggie blinked in surprise. He didn’t expect that. He was puzzled and unsure of what her motive is. He knows that the 1st princess can be cunning and sly like her brother. Using methods that were disapproved of but he also knows that Leanna Kingscholar is one of the best warriors in Sunset Savannah Court. Trained by her own mother and she’s one of their best hunters. 

No one has defeated her in combat. Maybe Leona can with magic but Ruggie hasn’t seen Leona in combat before. Leanna didn’t explain anything more. She went back to gazing at her brother sleeping while Ruggie quietly walked out but Leanna stopped him again. 

“Thanks for being there with him. For everything”. 

Ruggie looked back to see her watching him. He nodded his head and dropped the bamboo curtain. Ruggie was a bit in a daze that he didn’t see Jack standing in front of him until he crashed into him. Jack’s hand shot out to grab hold of Ruggie’s wrist. 

“Are you okay, Ruggie senpai?”. 

Ruggie blinked out from his stupor. He nodded but waved Jack away. Jack watched Ruggie walk away before looking at Leona’s room and back at Ruggie again. He rubbed his hair, clicking his tongue and walked to his room. 

~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ 

_Leona’s room - Morning_

Ruggie watched the stare down happening in front of him. Unsure if he should interfere or not. It’s amusing watching a small version of Leona trying to glare up at Leanna who is glaring down at him. The height difference made him choke and he tried his best to stifle his laugh. Leanna’s glare got darker and it didn’t take long for Leona’s ears to drop and his eyes averted away. 

“Why are you so stubborn today?”, Leanna huffed. “You can learn new things in these classes and you get to play with your magic”, she prompted. 

Leona stubbornly turned his head away with arms crossed. His tail swishing left and right very hard, showing his anger and annoyance. Leanna clicked her tongue in annoyance. 

“Leona”,she growled. 

Leona stuck his tongue out at her before turning away. Angry and annoyed, Leanna saw tears of frustration forming in his eyes. Leanna’s glare softened and she went down onto her knees to gently take hold of his shoulders. 

“Leona”, she called gently, cupping his cheek so she could turn his face to face her. “Hey. Look at me”. 

Big green hues looked up at her own green hues. Not many people know it but Leanna’s own green eyes were just a shade darker than Leona’s. When they were younger, Leanna used to get scolding from their father who thought she was Leona. Their parents used to get them mixed up much to Leanna’s amusement. It was easier to tell them apart after they hit puberty. 

Leanna wiped his tears with her thumb and gently placed a kiss to his forehead. “Why don’t we explore the place, hmm? Just you and me”.

Leona looked at her with hopeful eyes. He held her wrist. His ears perked up also and Leanna has no heart to disappoint her little brother. 

“Really? Can we? Father won’t scold us?”. 

His question seemed to cut Ruggie deep in his heart. Even after all this time, Leona still seemed scared of his father and also wanting his approval. Leanna smirked at Leona and winked at him. 

“Father won’t even know about it. It’s our secret. Just the two of us. Nii sama is too busy with his duties to join and he’s boringgggggg”, Leanna drawled out, tickling Leona’s sides making him giggle.

“Mhmm. Nii sama is boring”, Leona giggled, reaching up to hug Leanna. “Promise? Father won’t know?” 

“Mm. I promise. When have I ever broken our promise? Father won’t even know. Come, let’s eat first then we can go exploring”, Leanna took Leona’s little hand into hers. 

Something flickered through her expression that Ruggie saw. She tightened her hold a bit before plastering a smile for her brother then looked at Ruggie with her usual sly look. 

“Lead the way, Ruggie”. 

They arrived at the cafeteria that was filled with students bustling about in the early morning. Some had classes and some were dressed in p.e. Clothes. Ruggie led them all the way to the back where they were less students and made a dash to get their food. Leona stuck close to Leanna when they sat down. His ears went flat a bit but with Leanna’s constant rubbing his back, his ears slowly went up. Her tail was curled around him like a protective shield. 

Ruggie came back with their food, dumping them onto the table. Leanna snorted at the hyena’s antics. She’s glad that here they don’t treat Leona like a prince but she has a feeling that Ruggie is the only one who can scold her brother. She’s seen it before and found it amusing when they came home for the holidays. 

Leona munched on his breakfast and Leanna ate hers. Their peace was disturbed a bit by a few people joining them. Leanna was curious with these bunch of people. They were obviously first years because she’s never seen them before. She’s seen the dorm leads when she first arrived. The first years were interesting. Four of them looked human and the other was a wolf. She couldn’t decide if the black creature was a cat or a devil. 

“Wait, did Leona senpai turn into a woman!?”, the red headed boy with a heart shaped tattoo on his right eye yelled. 

Ruggie choked on his food. Jack whacked him on the back. Leanna stopped eating ,swallowed her food then grinned predatory at Ace. She leaned close to him which Leona ended up leaning away from her to follow. Ace froze. 

“Ho, what’s with you herbivores and your yelling? People are trying to eat”, Leanna showed some teeth. “Or maybe you can be my breakfast instead?”. 

Ace nervously stumbled over his words not because he’s scared but because Leanna was so close to him and she’s very pretty. Their staring match was broken by Leona whining. 

“Nee san, you’re crushing me”. 

Leanna instantly moved away to fuss over Leona. Ace blinked a few times trying to process what happened. 

“Nee san?? Huh wait what?”. 

Ruggie had finished his choking session to let out a sigh at the first years. He waved his hand towards Leanna. “This is Leona san’s older sister”. 

“Older sister. LEONA SENPAI HAS AN OLDER SISTER!?”, Deuce yelled. 

Ruggie, Jack, Leanna and Leona’s ears went flat. All had looks of irritation at them. Yuu was just watching silently at the whole thing, eating their food. Grim ignored them all in favour of eating his fish. 

“Tch”, Leanna clicked her tongue. Her eyes turned to Jack. “Huh, I think I’ve seen you before”. 

Jack sat up straight. 

“You’re on the magic shift team for Savannah Claw right?”. 

“Yes!”, Jack shyly replied to her. Ruggie was watching Jack but couldn’t help but to grin at him.

Leanna’s eyes turned to Ruggie. “Is this **_The_ ** puppy?”. 

“Shi shi shi shi. Leona must have told you?”. 

“He mentioned having a little puppy in the team with a strong sense of justice. I’m guessing it’s this one?”. 

“Yup. This is the one”, Ruggie grinned at them. 

_Ding dong, ding._

Ace shoved his food into his mouth. “Shit, we can’t be late for history!”. 

The first years hurriedly left with a wave of goodbye leaving Ruggie, Leanna and Leona. Ruggie downed his glass of water and took their trays away. 

“I’ll find you for lunch?”.

“Mmm. Bye. Leona say bye bye”, Leanna waved. 

“Bye, Ruggie!”, Leona chirped with a happy smile that sent arrows straight to Ruggie’s heart. 

Leanna smoothed Leona’s hair down. His crop short shoulder length hair was messy and curly even then she still can never get it to be tamed. Ruggie waved goodbye at them and left thus leaving them alone. The siblings were the only ones left in the cafeteria. Leanna stood up and stretched her arms high. 

“Want to go exploring?”. 

Leona grinned, reaching up to take her hand. He dragged her to some places that he remembered when he followed Ruggie and the others. 

~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ 

_Botanical garden - Afternoon_

Leanna looked around in amazement at the garden. It even has a waterfall. She’s impressed with it. They laid on a patch of grass. Leona giggled and rolled over so he’s facing her. Leanna looked at him and grabbed him to pull him on top of her. They ended up laughing and fell into a comfortable silence. 

Leanna fell asleep because she felt content and warm with her brother on top of her. Leona peered up to see Leanna sleeping. He wriggled around and rolled off her. He padded around to look at all the plants and water, making sure to stay near his sister. He looked back to see Leanna had rolled over to sleep on her side. 

An idea popped into Leona’s head. He quickly hid in some of the bushes and watched his sister. Instinct took over. He slowly approached her. Like a little cub learning how to hunt its prey, Leona carefully and slowly approached her. He watched for all movements from Leanna’s ears twitching to her tail flick. Leona would pause a bit and wait then resume his silent approach. 

Leanna had her eyes half closed, ears swivelled to listen. She knows her brother is trying to make a jump on her but she wants to see what he will do. The closer Leona got, the more still Leanna became. 

Then…...

Leona pounced unto Leanna. Leanna who caught him mid air and tickled him. His squeal of laughter was like bells chiming to Leanna’s ears. It’s been years since she heard her brother laugh like that. Something that she dearly misses but will never say it to him. 

They played with each other until Leanna hugged Leona tightly. Leona giggled some more before nuzzling into his sister’s hold. He let out a happy growl and Leanna started to groom him. Leona tried to get away but Leanna held him tightly. Eventually Leona stayed still and enjoyed the grooming. To him it’s been so long since he had been groomed by his family. 

After grooming him, Leanna laid down with Leona curled up. They fell asleep in the cool shade with the warm sun shining through. Leanna was the first to wake up. Her body tensed, her arm curled around Leona protectively. Her eyes sharpened and she waited. Sensing someone coming towards them. Leanna waited. 

When a shadow fell upon them, did she react. Her hand shot out and grabbed unto the suspect. Her pupils were like slits and fangs bared. Leanna let out a low growl deep from her throat.

A warning growl. 

Her suspect was none other than Mallues Draconia. The fae blinked at her and looked down at Leanna’s hand wrapped around his throat. Leona roused from his sleep. Blinking and rubbing sleep from his eyes. 

“Nee san?”, he sleepily called. 

“You’re……..horn boy”, Leanna raised an eyebrow and slowly withdrew her hand. 

Malleus frowned. “I have a name”. 

Leanna only raised her other eyebrow. 

“Malleus Draconia”. 

She hummed in response. Malleus was surprised she didn’t back away like people would when they found out about his name. But he has to guess that she’s Leona’s sister so their personalities match in a way. Leona looked up in interest. 

“Oh. It’s you. Nee san”, Leona shuffled over to hug his sister around her neck. “He taught me how to play chess”. Big green hues turned to meet with yellow green hues. “Can we play chess again?”.

“Please”, Leanna reminded Leona. Her hand went up to pet his hair. 

“Please”, Leona replied soon after. 

Malleus blinked in surprise. He usually never gets invited or asked to join in games. So this was a first. He only nodded his head and summoned the chess board with pieces. Leona’s eyes lit up at the things appearing. 

“Ohh. Can you teach me that? Nee san look! He made things appear from mid air. You think I can do that?”, Leona asked.

“You can. Just ask nicely and keep practising. You will get it”, Leanna leaned back unto her hands. 

Leona climbed down to sit in her lap. Malleus set up their game and the match began. Leanna simply played with her phone, answering a few messages and then she rested her chin on top of Leona’s head. Occasionally helping him with the game but mostly letting him play the match. 

“Leanna san! Leona san!! I got our lunch - geh! Malleus Draconia!”, Ruggie froze mid run to see Malleus playing with Leona. 

Malleus looked up and nodded before going back to the game. Leona and Malleus had looks of deep concentration.Ruggie slowly handed the food to Leanna. 

"Leona, time to eat", Leanna slowly unwrapped the sandwich and handed it to Leona. "You can continue to play your game afterwards". 

"Nee san, wait". 

Leanna rolled her eyes. She took one look at the board, grabbed the queen and made her move. 

"Checkmate. Now eat". 

Leona grumbled but ate his food. He purposely leaned back into Leanna's chest hard. He felt satisfied to hear Leanna grunt but regretted it when her hand came flying to smack his leg. She gave the other half of her sandwich to Malleus. 

"Here. You haven't eaten yet?", Leanna toss the wrapped food. "Eat". 

Malleus blinked in surprise. He caught the food and looked at it. Ruggie had a shock look. He couldn't believe it. Malleus ate the food with a slightly pleased look. Leanna finished hers and Leona's food when the cub finished eating. 

Just then the school bell rang. The 3rd year and 2nd year looked at each other than at Leona. Leanna picked him up and rested the cub against her front. 

"I'm going back to the room. Lil cub needs his nap", Leanna grinned. 

"No, I don't", Leona argued. "ah!". 

Leanna and the rest paused to look at the cub. Leona had one hand reached out to Malleus. 

"Will I get to see you again?? Can we play again, Malleus nii san?", Leona asked. 

Malleus flushed unsure of how to respond. Leanna watched him from the corner of her eye. 

"That is …….", Malleus thought for a bit. "Possible. Same place and time then?". 

Leona grinned happily at Malleus. "Okay!!". Big green hues turned to green hues. "Please, nee san!!!!". 

Leanna pinched his nose then slowly walked off. "Send me your schedule. Tell Ruggie to give you my number". And then she disappeared with Leona's echoes of goodbye. 

"What just happened?", Ruggie blinked in shock. 

"An invitation?", Malleus asked slowly while staring at the chess board. 

Ruggie ruffled his hair and pulled his phone out. "Here". 

Ruggie gave him Leanna's contact. Then he paused before giving his. Malleus took his phone back with a look of thanks. He seemed a bit surprised at Ruggie’s contact and looked up at Ruggie. The hyena had a strange look before it disappeared. 

“Leanna san has a habit of not checking her phone. She tends to leave unread messages for hours. It would be easier to message me also. Well, guess I see ya”, Ruggie ran off to get to class leaving Malleus to stare at his phone. 

~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ 

Days went by and Leona was still a kid. Professor Crewel and Azul tried many different tests but most of them failed. Malleus has somewhat grown closer to the little Kingscholar and students have seen the two together before or seeing Leanna dumping Leona onto Malleus before she walked off. Seeing the little cub chatting non stop with Malleus in the Diasomnia dorm became a common sight. Malleus was a common thing to see in the Savannah Claw dorm also. Leanna has somewhat ended up ruling the dorm. She has shown them not to mess with her or Leona. 

A few students can be seen licking their wounds when she defeated them. Ruggie made sure to collect the earnings from the bets much to Jack’s disapproval. Leanna was too strong, stronger than Leona even. To Leanna it was a much needed workout but the students, their prides were hurt. Ruggie has taken to teasing Leona and Malleus a few times together or just teasing Leona. 

Lilia is more than thrilled to see Malleus hanging out with others. The other dorm leads were also fascinated whenever Ruggie brought Leona for the dorm meetings. It was a sight to see Leona scampering off when he saw there was one less person in the room only to come back with Malleus in tow. And everyone was sheepish that they forgot about him. 

Leanna was a common sight at the cafeteria too. Leona would be going to class most of the week then spend the rest of his time, hanging off from his sister. Leanna joined the flying lesson one time. Leona was being taught by the other students. Basically it’s the usual dorm leads and their vice leads along with the 1st years and a few 2nd years. It was free time for them. 

“Okay, Leona san. You hold the broom tightly ya”, Ruggie instructed, smiling non stop. 

Jack hovered right next to Leona in case he fell over or something. Leanna seemed relaxed enough to let the others take care of her brother. She sat on the grass, tapping away on her phone and looked up once in a while. Half of the students were flying around with their brooms or playing a game of chase while a few were on the ground watching over Leona also. A lot of them found that the cub was adorable but promised not to say anything about it if he reverts back. Plus Leanna has a lot of pictures she can use as blackmail material. 

Leona cried out in joy when his broom levitated. He had a big grin on his face. Jack looked worried but also cheered for his senior. Ruggie grinned even more than before. Epal clapped for Leona while Ace and Deuce cheered for him. Leanna found it all amusing and snapped a picture to show their mother. Leanna looked down for a second before there was panicked yelling. Her head shot up to see what happened. 

She caught the tail end of Leona’s broom speeding off into the distance. Ruggie and Jack were frozen. The 1st years were the ones yelling. Leanna shot up with a look of worry and anger. She watched as Ruggie and Jack got into motion. Both hopping unto their brooms and shooting off after Leona. Of course the other seniors saw and went to help. Leanna watched as Leona managed to gain control of his broom and flew back. 

He had the biggest grin on his face that Leanna has ever seen. 

The other of course flew after him and some hovered around in case. Leona is having so much fun flying. Leanna’s eyes widened at the carefree look on her brother’s face. That look was a look she hasn’t seen in years. 

“Nee san!! Look!!!”, Leona yelled, one hand gripping his broom and the other waving at her. 

Her brother who was confined in the palace for years, subject to being compared, at times cast aside cause he was the 2nd prince and terrified of his own magic is now smiling like nothing and happily. Using his magic whenever he wanted with the others guiding him and the teachers. Her heart tightened and tears gathered. 

The wind blew, ruffling her hair as she soaked in the image of her brother smiling and laughing. She smiled at him and waved back, indulging him. She promised in her heart to keep him close and indulge in whatever whims he wants to do when he turns back to normal. She wants to keep him like this. Keep him happy and small and satisfied but the past can never be changed. 

But all happy things come to an end. Grim was flying on Yuu’s broom. The poor student was yelling at him to slow down. Leona had managed to slow his speed and was flying normally with Ruggie close by. 

“NYAHAHAHAHA!!!!! FASTER BROOM!! FASTER!!”, Grim cheered. 

“GRIM SLOW DOWN!! GRIM!!”, Yuu screamed. 

Leanna’s eyes darted to Grim and Yuu and then back at Leona. Her hair stood up in alert. 

“RUGGIE, GET HIM OUT OF THERE!”, Leanna screamed, instinct going wild. 

Ruggie reached out to grab Leona’s broom to pull him away but he was a second too late. Grim collided hard with Leona. There was a loud crash and then all hell broke loose. Leona tumbled off from the broom. They were quite high up also. A few students watched in shock as Leona fell. 

Vil, Malleus and Lilia raced to catch him. Leona was watching them but a strange expression flitted over his eyes that Malleus briefly caught. Malleus' hand reached out and barely grazed Leona’s hand. His eyes were wide with worry and panic. 

Leona was so close to hitting the ground. Leanna ran at full speed. Her eyes trained on her brother, calculating when 

“JACK!”, Leanna called out. 

Jack paused half above the ground when Leanna ran, jumped on his broom and together with him, he threw her up as she used her leg power to jump as high as possible. Her arms were outstretched. Trey used his magic pen to summon wind to help slow Leona’s descent. 

Leona fell straight into Leanna’s arms. Leanna curled around Leona, tucked them into a ball, hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop. Silence filled the field. Everyone froze. Ruggie and Jack broke that spell by running to Leanna’s fallen form. 

“Leanna san!”. 

Leanna was curled tight, her eyes were wide open and breathing fast. She slowly uncurled herself and slowly sat up with the bundle in her arms. She looked down to slowly relax her arms. Leona slowly opened one eye and then the other. His flat ears slowly stood up and he looked at Leanna. 

His sister had a few scratches on her face and she looked so worried. Leona slowly reached up to pat her cheeks and smile up at her. 

“I’m okay”, he tried to sooth his sister. “It’s okay. Nee san saved me”. 

Leanna pulled him into a tight hug, burying her nose in his hair and breathed in his scent. Her tail that was curled around him and her slowly uncurled itself. Leanna pulled away to fuss over him and check for any injuries. When she thought there was none, the lioness turned her gaze to the others. Her gaze narrowed to Grim and Yuu. Her mouth twisted into a snarl and a loud low growl can be heard. 

Leona was gently passed to Ruggie. Leanna stood up, her look so deadly that all the students froze. She stalked up to Grim, one had raised up. Yuu can see the nails, long and sharp. Leanna growled and slammed her palm right next to Grim. A few furs fluttered from the sharp wind. 

“You, insolent creature”, Leanna’s voice was twisted, deep and low. The sound was so scary that a few of them cowered, even Leona. “How dare you hurt him!? You were told to stop and slow down but creatures like you never listen, do you”. 

Grim gulped. Yuu was frozen. Leanna towered over them. This is what it felt like to be captured by a predator, Yuu thought. 

“I have overlooked the countless times you got my little brother hurt. Be it a few scratches and cuts. But this", her voice low and harsh. "This takes the top. He could have been killed. You could have gotten the 2nd prince killed, you insolent creature. For this, there will be a price to pay. 

Say goodnight". 

Leanna raised her claw hand high again and was about to claw Grim when she froze. Everyone turned to look at Leona, crying loudly. 

Leanna whipped her head to see Leona reaching out to her. Her maternal instinct and protectiveness overridden her killing intent. She hurriedly walked to Leona and crashed to her knees. Hands pat him and try to sooth him. 

There on his left leg, on his knee was a gash. Blood was oozing out from it. Leanna froze at the sight of the blood slowly seeping into Leona’s pants. Fat tears streamed down his cheeks while he tried to wipe his tears away. 

“Nee san”, Leona sobbed. 

Like a spell was broken, Leanna grabbed a water bottle next to him. She rolled up the pants and slowly poured the water onto the wound. Ruggie was next to them also, holding Leona’s leg still as the cub tried to pull his leg free at the stinging sensation. 

“Nee san, it hurts”, he whined. 

Leanna hushed him. With a clean cloth she stored near her, she gently cleaned the wound and wiped off the dirt and stones. Leona watched her actions then raised his arms up in a universal sign to be carried. Leanna picked him up, grabbed the spare bag she keeps around, stood up and walked off without a word. 

Leona rested his chin on her shoulder, overlooking everyone. He slowly waved at them before wrapping his arm around Leanna’s neck. The lioness disappeared from the field leaving everyone silent. Ruggie was the first to turn to glare hard at Grim. The usual calm and carefree Ruggie that everyone knew is now baring his teeth at Grim. Blue grey eyes held pure anger in them. 

“Leanna san is right. Leona san would not be here if Leanna san hadn’t caught him. You’re lucky Leona san stopped her before any damage could be done”, Ruggie clenched his fist tight. “Tch. Ruggie left the group without another word. Jack looked at them before hurrying after Ruggie. 

Malleus was not pleased at all with Grim. The 3rd year disappeared in a burst of light. Lilia shook his head in disappointment and followed Malleus also. Vil clicked his tongue and walked off with Rook and Epal following behind. 

“That wasn’t very nice, Grim”, Kalim said, with a look of disappointment too. 

Jamil grabbed Kalim by the shirt and dragged the 2nd year away. That left the 1st years, Grim and the Heartslabyul dorm head, vice head and Cater. Trey looked at Grim with a displeased look. Sure everyone had somewhat fallen for the little cub. They find out that it’s a lot easier to deal with Leona than Leanna. Leanna’s look was filled with killing intent and that scared everyone. 

“You better find a way to apologize to them”, Trey looked at Grim and Yuu. “Come on, let’s go. We had an eventful day today…”.

~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ 

_Savana Claw dorm - Leona’s room_

Leanna had bathed and changed Leona, is now bandaging his wound. Her mind was in a daze until Leona yelped. Leanna’s head shot up to look at Leona who was looking at Leanna. 

“It hurts”. 

“Sorry”, Leanna whispered, fingers trembling. 

“Nee san?”, Leona questioned. 

Leanna’s breath stuttered when she took a deep breath. Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. Leona’s eyes widened. He hasn’t seen his sister cry but even then he started to have tears forming. His small hand reached out for her. 

“Nee san, _hic_ don’t cry”, Leona, hiccuped. 

Leanna threw herself forward to embrace Leona hard. Her tears fell as she sobbed into his hair. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry”, she kept on apologizing. 

Leona confused but wrapped his arms around her neck. He listened as Leanna kept on apologizing. Little did the two lions know, Ruggie stood outside Leona’s room with a tray of snacks. His eyes were downcast as he listened to Leanna’s cries and apologies. His heart clenched as he watched Leona fall. Ruggie’s hand trembled at the thought of losing the arrogant, lazy, sly lion. Sure Leona is hard to please but the lion has given him almost everything from money to clothes and in return Ruggie stayed with Leona. 

He wondered what else did Leona hide from him. He clenched the tray tight when the door opened. Ruggie’s head shot up to stare at Leanna with wide eyes. The lioness stood to one side to let him in. Ruggie walked in and plastered a fake smile on his face. 

“Leona san~”, he purred. “I got snacks!”. 

Leona’s eyes lit up. He grinned at Ruggie, gently taking the doughnut from him. The two didn’t say anything but let Leona enjoy his snacks and indulge him in his talks. Leanna laid in bed, curled up around Leona while the lion cub laid on top of her. Snuggling in her arms as he chatted with Ruggie who also sat on the bed. The hyena was sewing Leona’s torn pants. 

“Nee san, are we going to have dinner later?”, Leona turned around to face Leanna. He paused as he watched his sister sleep. “Nee san?”, he quietly whispered. 

“Leona san, leave her be”, Ruggie whispered. 

Leona wriggled out from Leanna’s arms to crawl and pull the blanket over her form. He gently patted her shoulder to whisper good night even though it was still early evening. Leona crawled over to Ruggie instead. The lion cub relaxed in Ruggie’s lap as he watched Ruggie sew his pants. 

“Ruggie, why is nee san upset?”. 

That question was not what Ruggie expected to hear. He paused in his sewing to think. 

“I’m not sure Leona san. Not sure”. 

“Will she be happy if I give her something?”. 

“Like what?”. 

“I dunno”, Leona looked up at Ruggie. “Food? Nee san makes nice food”. Like a light bulb that went off. “Oh. Nee san likes mama’s cooking. Can we make mama’s cooking?”. 

“........Uhhhh……...I don’t know what the Queen makes, Leona san”. 

Leona’s ears went flat. “Ohhh”, he sounded upset. 

“Um. Oh. shishishi. How about Ruggie’s special soup?”. 

“Your special soup??”. 

“Hahaha. Yeah. Bet you never tasted it before right? Come, let’s go and make it and by the time Leanna san wakes up, it’ll be done”. 

Leona’s eyes lit up at the sound of making something for his sister. He nodded eagerly and followed Ruggie. The hyena took one last look at Leanna before softly closing the door, taking Leona’s small hand off they went to the kitchen in the cafeteria. 

Leanna slowly woke up from her nap. It was already dark and the moonlight was shining into Leona’s room. The lioness rubbed her eye and looked around. 

“Leona?”. 

Silence greeted the room. She paused. Where did her brother go?? She slowly got up when the door creaked open. Jack poke his head in and paused. Leanna stared at Jack. The two stared at each other for a while until Leanna waved him in. 

“Where’s Leona?”. 

“Leona senpai is with Ruggie senpai. They are at the lounge. Ummm”. 

“??? You came to get me?”, Leanna blinked. 

Jack blushed a bit and averted his eyes away. Leanna smiled at him thinking that Jack is such a cute wolf. She ruffled his hair and thanked him. Gently shoving his shoulder to make him follow her to the lounge. A few students stared starry eyed at her while some waved at her. Others greeted her like the royalty she is. A few snarled at her only to whimper when she snarled back. The duo arrived at the lounge where she can see Leona is busy chatting to Lilia. 

The old fae had a fond look on his face. Malleus was seated next to Leona, now and then his hand would hover behind the cub’s back, making sure Leona doesn’t fall. It was a fun sight for Leanna to see till she sat right next to her brother. Ruggie also appeared with a bowl of something steaming. 

“Nee san!”, Leona happily smiled at her. “Look at what Ruggie and I made”. 

Leanna blinked and looked down at the bowl. It was soup. Some kind of soup that has some meat in it and vegetables. Leanna looked at Ruggie for an explanation. Ruggie grinned at her and pointed to Leona. 

“Leona san wanted to make something for you and”, Ruggie trailed off. 

“We made soup!”, Leona grinned. 

Leanna’s hand went up to stroke Leona’s mane and rub his ears in thanks. “My, how nice of you. What’s the catch hmm?”. 

Leona pouted. “Nee san……….”, he whined. 

Leanna laughed softly. She spooned the soup into her mouth and chewed the meat. It was chicken, that’s for sure with hints of pepper. It was soft and tender. Leanna finished her meal, leaned down to ruffle Leona’s hair. 

“Thanks, brat”. 

“Is Nee san happy?”. 

“Hmm? What?”. 

“Nee san looked upset today. Was it my fault?”. 

Leanna blinked back tears. “No. it wasn’t your fault. It was that stupid creature’s fault. I….was just scared….”. 

“Nee san was scared?? But Nee san is never scared of anything”. 

“Not true. I’m scared of losing you. So does mother and nii sama and father too”. 

Leona wrinkled his nose at the mention of their father. Leanna flicked his forehead and lightly pinched his ear. 

“Don’t make that face”. 

Leona climbed down the chair and padded over to his sister. He climbed into her lap and hugged her around the neck. 

“But I’m here?”, he sounded confused. 

Leanna hugged him back. “Hmm, I know. Just no more flying”. 

Leona pulled back. “But whyyyyyy? Flying is cool and so nice!!! Nee san pleaseeeeee”. 

“No means no. Or until you’re older and taller”. 

Leona puffed out his cheeks making Leanna pinch them. Lilia chuckled and looked at Malleus who had a strange look on his face. He cleared his throat a bit. 

“What if one of us rides with him?”, Malleus suggested. 

Ruggie and Jack paused in their eating. Lilia looked delighted that Malleus took the initiative to start and Leanna looked dubious while Leona had an excited look. 

“It will be safer if we control the broom while Leona can sit with us?”. 

“............If he gets hurt, dragon boy. I know many ways how to pull your horn off”, Leanna threatened. 

Lilia let out a loud laugh like it was the best joke ever while Malleus had a shock look. He shrank a bit and lightly frowned at Leanna’s threat. Leona was vibrating with energy on Leanna’s lap. She had to hold him down and lightly hold his neck so he could stop moving. The night carried on with soft conversations and laughs until the young cub fell asleep on Leanna. She hummed a soft song while stroking his mane. 

The group were the only ones left in the lounge. Ruggie had brought out desserts for them but waited till Leona was asleep. Jack had retired early thus leaving them alone. 

“An eventful day for the youngling”, Lilia smiled. 

Malleus sat quietly enjoying his slice of cake. Ruggie leaned back against the chair and tipped it backwards. Leanna stared absentmindedly at the pool of water. 

“Leanna san?”. 

“..........”.

“Has Leona…...said anything...before he got turned into this?”, Leanna turned her gaze to Ruggie. 

The hyena looked confused and thought back to the days before the accident. He shook his head. Leanna hummed and slowly stood up with Leona in her arms. 

“Night. See you tomorrow”, she waved goodnight to them. 

The other three looked at each other and back at Leanna’s retreating back, confused and questions running in their heads, specifically Ruggie. 

~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ 

A few days after the accident, Grim did apologize to Leona with Leanna growling low at them. Yuu was so nervous but promised to control Grim next time, leaving them alone. One day, Leanna dumped Leona unto Lilia without a word and walked off. Leona watched his sister go with flat ears. He snuggled into Lilia’s warmth and stayed silent much to the fae’s confusion. He brought Leona to see Malleus. 

Leanna stood in front of the mirror with Ruggie next to her. He looked unsure and kept looking back and forth between the mirror and Leanna. 

“I need more clothes”, she raised an eyebrow. “I can’t keep wearing Leona’s clothes, can I?”. She was dressed in Leona’s singlet and pants. Sure she likes the material but she rather wear her own clothes too. 

Together they went to the sunset savannah court and into Leanna’s room. She pulled out a bag and dumped the clothes she wanted. Once she’s done, she grabbed something on her bed which Ruggie couldn’t see and stuffed it into the bag. They walked through the hallways with Leanna in front until she made a detour to the kitchen which was empty. 

“Hey”, Ruggie whispered. “What are we doing here???”.

“Just…..I can show you my mother’s recipe. Leona likes her cooking and if I show it to you, you can make it for him”. 

Ruggie blinked in shock. That was not what he expected but it means more work for him. 

“I’ll pay you”. 

Ruggie ruffled his hair. “I don't really need you to pay. Just show it to me”. 

Leanna showed Ruggie what to do and what to make when another figure entered the kitchen. 

“Oh, you’re back”. 

Both turned to see another lioness. This lioness looked older with her hair draped over one shoulder. Her grey blue eyes held more wisdom and there was a hint of fierceness in them. Her black hair had streaks of grey. Ruggie was surprised at the sly and playful look this lioness has. He immediately recognized who this is. 

The former Queen of Sunset Savannah Court. Leona and Leanna’s mother. The former queen, Zuri tilted her head to one side a bit. Ruggie saw that her neck and arms were covered in scars from war and fights. Leanna rushed over to hug her mother and rubbed their cheeks together. 

“Why are you up? You should be resting”, Leanna frowned. 

Zuri looked at Leanna with a smile and pinched her daughter’s cheek. “You’ve been gone for almost 2 weeks. Your brother said you were seeing Leona. Did something happen to my baby?”. 

Leanna looked at Ruggie then back at her. “Um….it’s more…..uhh….”. 

“A magical accident, your….highness…….”, Ruggie muttered, suddenly slightly afraid of the former Queen. 

She gave him a scrutinized look before looking at her daughter then back at Ruggie. “And you are?”. 

“He’s Leona’s friend”, Leanna cut in, not wanting to give Ruggie’s name.

Zuri blinked at Leanna then at Ruggie. Her eyes softened immediately. “Oh, he made a friend?”. 

Leanna smiled at her mother. “Unbelievable right?”, she laughed. 

Zuri smiled at Ruggie. She sniffed the air a bit and raised an eyebrow at Leanna. “You’re making my stew?”. 

Leanna shrugged. “Thought it might cheer Leona up”. 

Zuri smiled at her and patted her cheek. She walked up to the stove to taste the stew. “You’re missing some paprika”. 

Leanna fetched the paprika for Zuri and Ruggie took note of how much to put in. The two lioness worked together to finish making the stew. Leanna took over when Zuri went to sit down, her eyes looked even more tired than before. Leanna beacon for Ruggie to take over stirring the pot. Ruggie took over Leanna’s place but he had one ear out to the two. 

“You shouldn’t be pushing yourself so hard, mama”.

“Hush dear. I’m fine”. 

“Mama”, Leanna went down to kneel and took Zuri’s hand into hers. Leanna’s eyes were pain filled. “You woke up from a coma two years ago and are still recovering. You shouldn’t push yourself”.

Ruggie’s hand paused for a bit. His eyes widened at that but he kept on stirring the pot, pretending. Zuri glared at Leanna for she knows this is her daughter’s doing. 

“Leanna”, Zuri chided. 

Leanna glared back until Zuri coughed. Leanna hurriedly fetched a glass of cool water and helped Zuri with the cup. Ruggie caught the slight shake in Zuri’s hand and when the scarf was pulled up a bit, Ruggie’s eyes widened. There were cracks on Zuri’s arms. It was almost the same as his last time when Leona used his unique magic. Ruggie caught Zuri looking at him. The old lioness let out a sigh. 

“You seemed intelligent. I guess you figured it out?”. 

Ruggie kept quiet before slowly asking the former queen. “Did Leona sa - i mean the 2nd prince did that?”. 

Zuri raised an eyebrow at having caught the slip up. “My son seems to trust you if you’re calling him without title. This”, she showed the cracks on her left arm. “Was an accident. My son didn’t mean to use it. I was in the way…..it happened years ago when he was 12”, Zuri gave a painful smile. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my son”. 

“Mama….”. 

Something passed in Zuri’s eyes. Ruggie suddenly has a bad feeling about it. He knows that look. It’s the same look that Leona gets when he has come up with something. Zuri turned to her daughter. 

“You’re going back to see him?”. 

“Yes?”, Leanna’s tail swished back and forth, showing her agitation. 

“I’ve never seen the school before and you know how your younger brother is”. 

“Mama no!”. 

“It’s just for a short while. Why not?”. 

“You...you should be resting!!”. 

“I’ve rested enough”, Zuri pinched Leanna’s cheek. “I’m your mother, child. We may be royalty but I’m still your mother”. 

Leanna huffed, She knows she can’t defeat her mother like this. “Fine. But you’re only staying for one day”. 

Ruggie was baffled. There’s no way they are bringing the former queen to Night Raven College but then Leona has been asking to see Zuri for some time. Leanna did a great job keeping him distracted but the cub wants his mother. Zuri smiled pleasantly at Leanna and Ruggie.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ 

Ruggie tapped his foot nervously as he and Leanna waited for Zuri to appear. The former queen had wandered off while the two waited in Leona’s room. Leanna whacked Ruggie on the shoulder, hard with a growl. 

“Stop that”, she hissed. 

“Sorry but this is the queen we’re bringing along!”, Ruggie hissed. Sweat dripping down his chin. “The queen!”. 

“Former queen but it will be good for Leona. I can’t keep him from asking for long okay”. 

Before Ruggie could answer, Zuri wandered in. She was dressed casually with a few gold necklaces and a couple of bright coloured bracelets. Ruggie stared in awe because Zuri looked like Leona. Her scarf was draped over her head covering her ears. Zuri smiled at them. She had an excited look on her face. Leanna checked that her mother was okay before walking up to the mirror. She paused making both Zuri and Ruggi stare at her. 

“Mama, did you tell father that you’re….”. 

Ruggie froze. He was suddenly afraid for his life. The former king was a hard and stubborn lion from what he heard. Zuri waved at her daughter with a cunning smile. 

“I told him, I’m spending time with you. Mother, daughter bonding time. Your father won’t get in the way”, Zuri grinned. 

Leanna let out a sigh. She nodded at Ruggie to lead the way. They entered the mirror and appeared in the mirror chamber. Zuri looked around in awe. 

“So this is what the school looks like”, she said, excitedly. 

“Mama”, Leanna held out her hand to her mother. “So we don’t lose you”, she grinned. 

Zuri rolled her eyes and took her daughter’s hand. Ruggie led the way to Savannah claw dorm where most of the students were back. They stared in awe at the sight of Zuri walking. Some actually bowed down to her, sensing that this lioness was powerful and strong. Someone that they should respect. 

Ruggie couldn’t help but to grin at this. He snickered at some students scampering away, afraid. He could get used to this. Already they fear Leanna and now with Zuri here, it was fun seeing the students cower. 

As they reached Leona’s room, Leanna dumped her bag onto the floor and flopped onto the bed. Zuri sat down on the bed and promptly whacked her daughter’s leg. She looked around the room, taking in every detail as Ruggie set the tupperware of stew down. His ear flicked. 

“Leanna san?”, he asked only to swallow when Zuri looked at him. “Um….Princess”, he stuttered. 

Leanna waved her hand at him. “No formalities. Just call me by my name like you always do. Ignore mama. Ow”. 

Zuri’s tail whacked Leanna’s leg. Leanna glared at her mother only to roll over and wrap her arms around her mother’s waist and bury her face in her lap. Zuri’s hands landed in Leanna’s messy mane and started to stroke them. 

“Where’s Leona san?”. 

Leanna’s eyes had closed when her mother smooth her hair only to snap open. She sat up with a jolt. 

“Shit. I left him with Lilia”, Leanna scrambled out from bed and ran out of the room to fetch her brother, leaving Ruggie and Zuri alone. 

“Language”, Zuri called out after Leanna. 

Ruggie was very afraid now. He turned a bit to see Zuri watching him, judging him. Her tail swishing side to side, eyeing the hyena. Zuri leaned back a bit. Her blue grey eyes held questions. 

“So tell me”, she patted the empty spot next to her. “I want to know what my son has been up to. And what is this magical accident also”. 

There is no way Ruggie can say no to her even if his instincts are telling him to run away. Ruggie gulped hard and laughed nervously. 

_‘Leanna san, please come back faster’._

~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ 

Leona was grumpy and upset with Leanna. Even when he’s being carried in her arms, he had his head turned away from her. He hasn’t forgiven her for dumping him to Lilia and Malleus. Yes, it was fun playing with them but he wanted cuddles from his sister. Leanna sighed and pulled him closer to her. Leona rested his cheek on her shoulder, small fingers playing with her braids. 

The siblings were silent all the way up to the dorm. Leanna paused at the door making Leona look up at her. 

“Nee san?”. 

Leanna peered down at him and gave him a smile. She leaned down to rub her nose with Leona’s making him giggle. “I have a surprise for you”. 

Leona’s green hues lit up like fireflies glowing. Leanna burned that look in her mind. Leona was almost brimming with energy.

“Close your eyes”. 

Leona did as he was told, knowing that his sister has always been good at surprising him. She pushed the door open with her shoulder and entered the room. 

“Okay. You can open them now”. 

Leona slowly opened his eyes only for them to widen. There perch on the bed, with a gentle smile on her face, soft blue grey hues staring at them. 

“Mama?’, Leona slowly whispered, tears slowly forming in his eyes. 

Zuri nodded her head, pulling down the scarf from her head. Leanna set him down. Leona clutched onto Leanna’s shirt tightly, hesitant. 

“Why so scared, my lil _naleli_?”. 

It was a nickname that his mother gave him. A nickname that is like a secret between them that says ‘ your father isn’t here’. Leona let go of Leanna’s shirt and ran straight into Zuri’s outstretched arms. He buried his face in her chest and burst out crying. 

“Mama!! Mama!!”, he kept repeating, hugging his mother tightly.

Ruggie stood near the door. Seeing Leona cry in his mother’s arms which then overlapped with the older version of Leona nearly brought tears in his eyes. Hearing that broken cry from Leona pierced his heart. Leanna patted Ruggie’s shoulder and gently pushed him back, an indication that he should leave them. She gave him a kind smile. 

Ruggie closed the door behind him, fingers clenched into a fist and his ears twitching at the muffled sobs of Leona. That crying face was seared into his brain and he silently vow to never let Leona make that face again. Ruggie furiously rubbed his tears away and plastered on a fake smile, to pretend that his heart wasn’t aching or that he too wanted to cry. 

Leona laid in his mother’s arms, sniffling. Zuri was rocking them slowly and hummed a lullaby to calm Leona down. Leanna started to unpack her stuff and folded some clothes while Zuri hugged Leona. 

“Mama”, Leona mumbled, snuggling deeper into his mother’s arms. 

Zuri hummed and smoothed his mane. “Are you hungry? I made stew”. 

Leona shook his head but promised her he would eat. He hugged her tightly and nuzzled her neck. Sniffling and feeling sleepy, he curled up in her arms. It didn’t take long for Leona to fall asleep in Zuri’s arms. 

~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ 

The cafeteria was in a buzz. Majority of the students were trying to take a look at the table at the back. Zuri was sitting with Leona and Leanna today. Zuri would fuss over Leona while Leanna glared at any students trying to take a look. Students suddenly parted like the red sea when Malleus, Lilia, Silver and Sebek entered the cafeteria. 

“Ouuuwaaa. Looks like the lord has arrived. Shishishi”, Ruggie giggled, sitting next to Leanna. 

Leanna’s eyes turned to see Malleus approaching the table. Lilia gave her a big smile and a wave but his eyes turned curious at the sight of Zuri, feeding Leona. Malleus stopped at the front of their table. Leona looked up and his eyes brightened. He tugged his mother’s arms to point at Malleus. 

“Mama, look. It’s Malleus nii chan. I told you about him before”, Leona chirped. 

Zuri turned her head to see the Diasomnia dorm head. Malleus blinked with slightly wide eyes. The same thought ran through all of their heads. ‘ _This is Leona’s mother??’._

Zuri raised an eyebrow at the stunned student. Her grey blue eyes looked up and down Malleus’ form. She hummed to indicate to her son that she heard him. Zuri gave a short nod but sat up straighter just a bit which caught Leanna and Ruggie’s eyes. The two turned to give knowing looks at each other. Zuri is in protective mode now. She’s going to assess everyone of her son’s so-called friends. 

The next one to enter the cafeteria is the Pomefiere dorm head and vice head with Epal trailing behind. Of course, Epal was being stubborn and made faces behind Vil’s back. The sound of Vil approaching the cafeteria was known to Leanna. This may be the first time she’s seen the dorm head here. 

Vil stopped short at seeing Malleus standing awkwardly at the table. 

“Oh? Malleus? Why are you standing there?”, Vil asked, walking up to the other dorm head. He too stopped short at seeing Zuri turning to look at the newcomer. 

Vil’s eyes widened. He let out a small gasp and quickly cover his mouth. Sure he has heard of royalty and all but seeing one from a different country or so is new. Zuri may be old but she still has her beauty. Vil was more attracted to Zuri’s eyes. The older lioness has hair was tied up in a loose ponytail that draped over one shoulder. 

“Another friend?”, she asked Leona who had climbed to sit in her lap. She smoothed his mane. 

“Mhm”, Leona nodded, happy. 

It didn’t take long for the rest of the others to appear. All taking an interest in Zuri. Ruggie was impressed that their little table soon multiplied to more tables with the dorm heads and vice heads sitting with them. The rest were scattered but were closed by. Zuri’s posture slowly relaxed bit by bit when her son started to talk to everyone especially with Malleus. Vil would occasionally cut in the young cub’s rambling to tell him to eat or drink. 

Zuri found it amusing that there’s someone else to mother her little cub. Leanna yawned but was amused, having witnessed Vil’s so-called mothering. It was funny that the Pomefiere dorm head had taken Leona under his wing. Ruggie muttered something about them being partners for a magic test or something. Apparently the two don’t get along but work well in using certain magic. Leanna wished she could see it. She can picture her brother bossing Vil and Vil having his snarky comeback. Her brother sure attracts such interesting characters. 

Zuri agreed with her daughter at that too. The little group sure has interesting characters. Even Zuri has called Kalim a puppy a few times, making Jamil cringe and telling Kalim off. Leanna burst out laughing at that. Floyd was poking fun off Leona who would hiss and bat his hands away. Jade would sigh in amusement but would leave his brother. 

Zuri put a stop to that. Her hand shot out to grab Floyd’s wrist. The merboy flinched and stared in awe. Zuri’s grip was tight and with her other hand, she pulled Leona into her lap. Everyone was watching the exchange. 

“I would appreciate it if you stop bullying my son”, Zuri’s voice was stern and cold. Her eyes were sharp and she glared at Floyd. 

Floyd’s eyes widened. He slowly stepped back when Zuri released his hand, with both hands raised upwards. Leona turned around and clung to Zuri, burrowing his head into her chest. Her hands immediately rested on his back and hair. She gathered her son into her arms and stood up. Without even looking down, her blue grey hues glance at all.

“I shall take my leave”, was her curt reply, obviously very annoyed. Her tail flicked with her suppressed anger. 

Leanna is not surprised that her mother is annoyed and angry at Floyd. She knows how much Zuri is protective of Leona that anything disturbs him, she will get rid of it. Leanna understood why their mother is like that with Leona. She wasn’t this protective of her and Farena, still protective yes but never this protective. 

Zuri had a difficult pregnancy with Leona and he wasn’t even planned. What made Zuri protective was because Leona was taken in front of her. Leanna let out a sigh when both her mother and brother disappeared. She lazily popped a grape into her mouth and chewed with a hand on under her chin. Ruggie lightly jabbed her. 

“That was -”. 

“Mama being protective”, Leanna hummed. 

Vil huffed. “Well that certainly explains half of his behaviour. I understand that your mother is protective but still that was - “. 

“No”, Leanna cut in. “You don’t understand. I really appreciated it if you all stop making judgements about my brother. He’s been through enough”, she stood up with a growl. 

The whole cafeteria is tense. Even Ruggie was clueless and unsure of what to do. Leanna left the whole cafeteria with a tense body. Ruggie’s shoulders slumped. This is going to be troublesome to deal with. He’s internally cursing his luck in dealing with the Kingscholars. Ruggie stood up and chased after Leanna. She slowed her pace to let Ruggie catch up with her. Before he can say anything, Leanna grabbed his wrist and dragged him with Ruggie protesting. 

They entered the Savanca Claw mirror chamber. Leanna dragged him to the magic shift stadium. The training grounds for them. Ruggie finally tugged his arm free. He grinded his heel into the sand and opened his mouth only for Leanna to slap it close with her hand. She glared at him and pointed to the field. 

They were far away from Zuri and Leona. Zuri's ears flicked to them and her head turned just a bit to indicate that she knew they were there. Leona ran up to Zuri and tugged her arm. A big smile was on his face as he demonstrated a move Zuri taught him. Leanna and Ruggie moved to sit on the bleaches to watch the two from above. 

Leanna’s eyes turned sad while Ruggie kept watching. The two sat in silence even when Leona let out a few cries of joy and Zuri playfully tackled him gently or pinch his ears. Leona laughed out loud. 

“Mama is protective of Leona because of that incident”, Leanna started. Ruggie turned to face her. “She has seen some servant’s kids, older than Leona by a few years, bullying him before. Even though he was the prince, they spread rumors that Leona was not father’s child. Leona didn’t know the difference at that time. He was too young. 

Mama had thrown those servants and their families out of the palace when one of the kids pushed Leona down. Children are vicious when they aren’t aware. They called him names and said that magic is abnormal. Leona was scared after that. Father and mama had gotten into a fight after she threw the servants out. Then neighbouring prides wanted to take over the throne, war broke out. 

Leona’s room overlooks the scene. I think he watched the fights. The palace was safe but when you keep seeing guards coming back drench in blood and all, it scares you for good. There was one pride that came in undetected. We didn’t know. I was with Leona, looking after him when one entered the room”, Leanna’s eyes hardened. 

“I tried to protect him but when a lion is bigger than you and stronger, the fight was an obvious win. Mama had come back, tired and bloody but knew something was wrong. She rushed to Leona’s room when Leona had unleashed his magic. Mama ran straight to cover him but Leona had hit mother with his unique magic. Father had seen it. So did nii sama. Mama killed the lion but Leona’s magic was breaking mama’s arm. It was scary. 

There was lots of screaming and mama had collapsed, coughing and hacking sand. Father had knocked Leona out for the magic to stop”, Leanna clenched her hands together. “Mama had slipped into a coma after that. Father was furious with Leona and you can guess what happens from there. Leona started to isolate himself from everyone after that. 

This is the main reason why Leona doesn’t go home”, Leanna turned to Ruggie. “It’s funny when you all thought that Cheka was the reason but sadly it’s not. Mama’s accident is the reason Leona doesn’t come home. He avoids the palace like a plague. It doesn’t hold much happy memories for him. He thought that by not seeing mama will lessen the pain for him. I know it just ends up festering and causing it to bleed. I guess that’s one of the reasons why he overblot”. 

Ruggie’s eyes widened. “You knew about that too?”. 

Leanna’s eyes glistened with tears. “Your headmaster contacted me and explained it to me. I rather hear it than letting nii sama deal with it. He would make it a big deal and Leona would avoid going home even more. I never told him that I know about it. 

Now you know. What goes through his head, sometimes I don’t get it”. 

“But he loves you the most”, Ruggie scratched his head. Remembering the times Leona would be overthinking about his decision for getting Leanna presents of gifts for her birthday or just for fun. 

“I practically raised him when mama was in a coma. He was twelve when that happened”. 

Ruggie bit his lip. He can guess why Leona doesn’t talk about his family. He does mention Leanna quite a lot when it’s just the two of them. He can guess that the only love Leona knows is from his sister. It’s not unusual for siblings to be very close in their kind. 

“Don’t tell him. This stays between us, no matter what”.

Ruggie nodded. His head snapped forward when Leona suddenly yelled to them. The little cub practically threw himself at Ruggie. The hyena caught him. He does not want to be skinned alive when the mother lion is right in front of him. Leona grinned at him. The two started to talk while Zuri sat next to her daughter. Exhaustion evident in her eyes. Leanna clicked her tongue and glared at her mother. 

Zuri lightly pinched her cheek. “Help me”, she said innocently. 

Leanna huffed but did as she was told. She turned to the other two. Leona’s big green hues were slowly dropping. Leanna chuckled. 

“Lil cub. Time for a nap”. 

“I’m not tired”, but he rubbed his eyes and laid his head on Ruggie’s shoulder. “Am not”. 

“Sure, sure. Let’s go”. 

The four of them made it to Leona’s bedroom. Zuri gently picked Leona up from Ruggie’s arms and hummed a lullaby. Ruggie quickly left after that. Zuri and Leona curled up together in his bed. Leanna quietly packed away her clothes. She pulled out the last item from her bag. A soft toy. 

It was completely worn down. The threads fraying at the ends. The colors were completely washed out. The button eyes were gone and were replaced with cross stitched eyes instead. It was a stuffed toy of a lion. Leanna turned to see Zuri watching her. 

“You kept it?”, Zuri whispered. 

Leanna nodded. Sitting down next to Leona, who snuggled into Zuri’s side. “He wanted to get rid of it but I snatched it before he could. I don’t think he remembers it”. 

“Your stitches had improved”. 

Leanna gave her mother a look. “ I had to learn fast to mend the clothes, mama. You weren’t always there”. 

Zuri’s eyes softened. “A regret that I will always carry for not being by all of your sides. Will he remember about this?”, she indicated to the cub. 

Leanna shook her head. “They said he won’t remember it. Probably will get a glimpse or feelings? But he won’t remember this”. 

“A pity. I wished I could keep him like this. Stay small forever”.

Leanna gently placed the hand sewn soft toy into Leona’s arms. The cub immediately latched onto it and hugged it tightly. 

“I should make another one”, Zuri commented, a sly smile on her face. “Give it to him as a present”. 

Leanna’s eyes sparkled. “Send it here. He won’t be able to get rid of it”. 

The two lionesses giggled quietly. 

~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ 

_Mirror chamber - A week after Zuri arrived._

“Do you have to go?”, Leona whined.

Zuri stood in front of the mirror. She looked at Leona who was in her arms. Oh how she wants to just keep him like this by her side. She regretted never being by his side as much as she wanted. Maybe with this spell she can get another chance but it might be bad also. 

Zuri smiled at Leona. She nuzzled his face and placed as many kisses as she can. Leona wrapped his arms around her neck, burying his face into her neck. 

“Don’t go mama. Please stay”, he said brokenly. 

It broke Zuri’s heart. Zuri hugged him tightly and burrowed her nose into his mane. She does not want to let him go. She wondered if he would come back home for the holidays. She missed her son dearly. 

Leanna gently pried his arms off their mother. Leona whined and growled wetly but latched onto Leanna after that. The soft toy stuffed in his arms. Zuri smiled at him. She pinched his nose and wiped his tears away. 

“ _Naleli._ Come home, yeah. I’m just going home. When your school break starts, you can come home”. 

“Promise?”. 

“I promise my lil naleli”, Zuri leaned down to nuzzle him. “Always”. 

Zuri kissed his cheeks and walked through the mirror. The bright white light hurt their eyes and it died down leaving just Leanna, Leona and Ruggie who stood at the back. Leona sniffled, laid his head on Leanna’s chest. The lioness kissed his mane a few times and rubbed his back in comfort. She and Ruggie returned to Leona’s room where the lil cub curled up into a ball with his stuffed toy. Leanna laid with him, brushing his cheek and mane in a comforting manner. It was something that she used to do for him when he was scared or in pain or just wanted comfort. 

It’s been almost three weeks for Leona being stuck as a child. Ruggie’s phone vibrated. He tapped the screen to see a few messages from Azul. Reading it, a small smile broke out. 

“Leanna san”, Ruggie whispered. He watched as Leanna’s ear swiveled to him. “Let’s go to the alchemy class”. 

Leanna lifted her head up to stare at Ruggie. 

He shook his phone at her, a big grin on his face. “Time to get Leona san back”. 

~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ 

_Alchemy class_

Leanna sat Leona down on top of the high table. The lil cub whined and reached out for her. Azul pushed his glasses up, not wanting to comment about the stuff toy in Leona’s arms. Ruggie grinned at Azul. 

Blackmail material for them. 

“This should change him back”, Professor Crewel said, shaking the clear liquid in a test tube. 

Leanna crossed her arms, frown in place. “And if it doesn’t work? Is he going to be stuck like that?”. 

“Nonsense. It won’t fail. We have done multiple tests and this is the right one”. 

“Hmm”. 

Crewel cupped Leona’s chin and tilted it upwards. The cub trembled and bit his lower lip. Leanna came forward to gently pry his bottom lip away from his teeth, mumbling to him to take his ‘medicine’. Leona not wanting to be here any longer, drank the clear liquid. He coughed at the taste and his eyes scrunched up. Nose wrinkle at the awful taste. 

All peered at Leona for any reaction and the cub stared back at everyone. Leona hugged his stuffed toy tightly to his chest. Minutes went by and still nothing happened. Leanna picked Leona up. 

“Well?”. 

“It should have worked”, Azul stated, folding his arms across his chest. “It was perfect. So why?”. 

“Maybe it wasn’t as perfect as you thought it was”, Ruggie muttered, poking Leona’s cheek. 

That’s when he noticed how drowsy Leona looked. He didn’t even react to the poke when he would usually bat his finger away. Leanna looked down to see Leona rubbing his eyes, sleepily. She looked back up at the others then back down at Leona. Three pairs of eyes peered at Leona. 

_Blink once._

_Twice….._

_Third…._

Leona’s head hit Leanna’s shoulder and she felt soft slow breath coming from him. She blinked. 

“Is he asleep?”. 

Ruggie nodded. “Is it meant to do that?”. 

“We’re not sure. Like we said. This has never happened before and there might be side effects but….”, Azul pushed his glasses up again. 

“We shall see”, Leanna commented, gently lifting Leona up higher. “I’m taking him back to the room”. She suddenly paused. She looked down. “Leona?”. 

All turned to see the lil cub panting. He looked pale and his cheeks were a shade darker. Leanna can feel the heat coming off from him. She immediately snapped her eyes at Azul.

“Is this one of the side effects?”. 

“It could be. We must record it down in case”, Crewel said. 

“We’ll inform you what the effects are. We need to get his fever down”, Leanna urgently said to Ruggie. 

The duo rushed back to the room where they got to work. Carrying a bowl of cold water and a small cloth. Leona whined when he was gently laid down on the bed. Ruggie had text Jack to not let anyone enter the room or see them. 

Ruggie’s phone buzzed with messages from other dorm leads and vice, making him puzzled. Jack must have told them. It made Ruggie’s heart twist at this. He looked back to see Leanna wiping Leona down and trying to break the fever. It seemed like even though the leads hate each other but this seems as if they are friends. 

Will they be able to stay like this? 

Messages from others giving advice of how to break the fever and messages of _hope he gets better soon_ flooded the phone. Ruggie switched it off and tucked it away. 

It took hours for the fever to break. Ruggie has been texting Azul about the side effects that included high fever, sweating, being incoherent and body pain. It sort of made Ruggie tremble when Leona in his fever induced state started screaming about pain. It meant that the potion was working in making him grow fast in a matter of hours instead of years. 

It took a lot out of Leanna to soothe and comfort Leona. It brought tears to her eyes to hear her brother in pain. Each shush and smoothing of his mane made Leona whimper. 

It was nightfall by the time Leona fell asleep comfortably. Ruggie and Leanna collapsed onto the carpeted floor. Ruggie turned to see Leanna staring up at the ceiling. He looked down when he felt her hand grab his. She squeezed it. A silent thank you. 

Ruggie squeezed back. They waited. Leanna shooed Ruggie away after they had a late dinner and made Leona drink some water. Ruggie watched as Leanna climbed into bed and curled up around Leona. He closed the door quietly and left, praying that it worked. 

~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ 

Hazy green eyes slowly peeled open. A soft groan escaped his mouth. Leona’s body aches like hell and he couldn’t fathom why. It felt like he got run over by a herd of buffalos and thrown over a cliff. He tried to lift his arm but it felt like lead. He struggled and managed to get his left arm up to scrub his face. 

It felt like when he went into overblot at that time. Draining him completely. He struggled to sit up but paused when he felt his blanket tugged. He blinked suddenly feeling very awake. He laid back down and turned his head to the right side. His eyes widened. 

“Am I…….at home??”, he mumbled to himself, trying to remember what had happened. 

His memory was foggy. He looked around, seeing the shutters and the colours of Savannah claw dorm. Now his mind is running laps. He’s in Night Raven College so what is Leanna doing here!? He felt Leanna stirred. He turned his head to see her blink awake. She sat up and stretched her arms high. 

Looking down, the siblings stared at each other. Leanna reached out with trembling fingers to touch his cheek. Leona stayed still for that till he reached out to hold his sister’s hand. Her eyes filled with tears and something angry stirred in him. 

Who dares to make his sister cry!? He internally roared. He struggled to sit up when the door swung open. 

“Leanna san, I brought breakfast”, Ruggie’s voice rang out. “Is Leona san -”. 

_Clang clung._

“Oi Ruggie. You better clean that mess up”, Leona growled, annoyed at the noise. 

“Leona san!”, Ruggie threw himself at Leona all of a sudden. 

“Gah! Oi!! What the hell?”. 

Leanna hiccuped and soon tears streamed down her face. Leona was suddenly alarmed. Ruggie too had tears streaming down. Leanna threw herself at Leona too and sobbed into his mane. He now has two crying people on him and he doesn’t even know what’s going on. 

It was a while until the two settled down. Ruggie had gone off to get them a new tray of breakfast. Leanna refused to move from her spot of clinging unto Leona. The lion didn’t mind. It’s been awhile since he spent some time with her. 

“What do you last remember?”, she asked him. 

“..........The cauldron exploding. Tch that idiot Vil. I told him not to mix sage leaves with cat claws”, Leona growled. 

“........... anything after that?”. 

“?? What?? Did something happen? Wait, what day is it?”.

“So you don’t remember anything after that?”. 

“Is it important? Is that why you are here?”. 

“Nothing. Just nothing. It’s good that you’re okay”. 

“It doesn’t explain why you are here”. 

“It’s fine, Leona”, Leanna buried her face into his neck. “It’s fine”. 

Leona reached up to pet his sister’s hair. Ruggie returned back with a fresh tray. 

Things went back to normal for them. Leona was a bit creeped out when Kalim would give him sad eyes and mumbled about how cute he was. Vil started to mother him around and that threw Leona off completely. 

What baffled him the most was Malleus kept on intruding in his nap time to play chess. It was one thing after the other but somehow, Leona didn’t feel like shaking them off. He allowed Vil to mother him and grumbled about it. Playing chess with malleus was somewhat entertaining. The fae was pretty good in chess and that led to a regular meet up for them. 

Leanna stayed a couple of more days with him. Leona would forfeit going to the cafeteria for dinner and would simply spend dinner with his sister. Ruggie had caught him up to date but he suspected both Ruggie and Leanna left out certain details. He remembered seeing Grim cowering behind Yuu when they spotted Leanna. Ace and Deuce waved awkwardly before dragging the others. Jack ran up to greet them and Leona had to double take when Leanna reached up to pet Jack’s hair. 

The wolf wagged his tail happily before running off. Trey had baked some desserts and given it to Leona. Desserts that he secretly liked but never told anyone. Leanna pinched his arm to remind him to be nice to the others. For some strange reason, Leona felt like he got close to the dorm leads and vice versa. Of course none said anything and pretended like everything was normal. 

The Savannah Claw dorm members were what made Leona raise an eyebrow. He saw how the students would bow to Leanna and him or how they would give them space. Leona looked at his sister who waved them away. 

Today was the last day for Leanna to be here with him. He watched her pack her bag while she complained about his unkempt room. He frowned when she threw something at him. He caught the _thing._ It was his old stuffed toy. Leona felt his eye twitch, looking up at Leanna for an explanation but his words died in his mouth when he saw how Leanna stared at the sky. 

“Nee san?”. 

“Are you ever going to come home?”. 

“......”. 

“Mama misses you, you know”. 

Leona looked away. He wants to go home but the guilt of what he did so many years ago still ate inside of him. He felt gentle fingers running through his mane. He turned to look at his sister. 

His beloved sister who raised him when their mother was in a coma. His sister who stood by his side all this time. His only sister that would scold and nag him to death but would comfort him when things got too much for him. His sister bandaged his wounds whenever a spell went wrong or simply unexplained cuts. 

He never told his sister how much he wanted to end things with his own hands but she was his rock that kept him grounded. His sturdy rock who made sure he doesn’t go off the high cliff that he’s been standing. He wants to tell her that going back home means dealing with the pain of what happened. He knows their mother had woken up from the coma but the scars still remained. It took many weeks for Ruggie’s to heal but Zuri’s one seemed to stay. 

“Come home, please”, Leanna begged. 

“And deal with those two annoyance. No”, Leona huffed. 

Leanna chuckled. “Just please visit home during the school break. We haven’t spent much time together either. You still owe me a rematch last time”. 

Leona’s eyes suddenly widened when a memory that was foggy surfaced in his mind. 

‘ **_Leanna gently pried his arms off their mother. Leona whined and growled wetly but latched onto Leanna after that. The soft toy stuffed in his arms. Zuri smiled at him. She pinched his nose and wiped his tears away._ **

**_“Naleli. Come home, yeah. I’m just going home. When your school break starts, you can come home”._ **

**_“Promise?”._ **

**_“I promise my lil naleli”, Zuri leaned down to nuzzle him. “Always”._ **’

“Did….”, Leona hesitated. “Mama”, he choked out, voice raw with emotion at that word, “ever came here when I had that accident?”.

Leanna gave him a knowing smile. “Come home and you’ll find out”.

“Fine, fine. I get it! I get it!”, Leona growled, arms crossed. “I’ll visit during this coming break”. 

Leanna smiled brightly. 

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ 

Leona stood behind Leanna. They were in the mirror chamber. He’s sending her off but it feels like he’s sending her away for good. Leanna patted his cheeks with a grin. 

“Don’t be so frowny. It’s just going home. School break would be here and then before you know it, you’ll get sick of me”, she laughed. 

“I’ll never get sick of you”, he mumbled, face pinched at that comment. 

“Oh, right”, Leanna bounced a bit. She peered aroundLeona to see Ruggie behind him. “Ruggie, remember our promise, yea”, she grinned, making her fist hit her palm. 

Ruggie gulped and nodded his head. Leona frowned at them, wondering why she’s threatening Ruggie. 

“Oi, stop threatening him. He’s mine, nee san”. 

Leanna grinned sly. She hoisted her bag higher, pinched Leona’s cheeks and ruffled his mane. “Bye cub. See you soon”. 

A bright light and soon Leanna was gone. Leona turned to Ruggie. 

“What was that?”. 

“Nothing!”, Ruggie gulped. 

A few hours before, 

‘ _Ruggie~”, Leanna sings, hands behind her back._

_Ruggie has a sudden feeling of doom now. He swallowed nervously._

_“Yea?”._

_“If you hurt my baby brother, I know a lot of ways to slowly end your life, ya?”._

_“Huh!? What!? Leanna san, why are you!?”._

_“Oh, I know about your crush on my brother. If it’s any consideration, he likes you too. The two of you are so obvious about it but yet refuse to admit it. Honestly, like come on. Just go for it”._

_“It’s not that easy!! Leona san is!!....He’s…..umm…..shit”, Ruggie buried his face into his hands._

_“You've been doing a good job dealing with him. Just take the leap. Leona won’t take the first step when it comes with feelings, remember. So you take the lead”, Leanna advises with a wicked grin._

Ruggie clenched his fist at his sides. Leona turned around to walk back home when Ruggie called out to him. The lion half turned his head to look at the hyena at the corner of his eye. He didn’t expect Ruggie to suddenly run up to him, yank him down by the collar and smack kissed him, dead on the lips. 

Leona froze. Eyes widened. He was stunned for a few seconds but felt Ruggie’s sudden hesitation when he slowly withdrew from the kiss. Leona immediately grabbed Ruggie’s face and deepened the kiss. They pulled back with flushed cheeks and panting for air. 

“You”, Leona started. 

Ruggie grinned up at him. Arms coming up to hang off Leona’s shoulders. “Shishishi. Thought I take the jump”. 

“Please don’t. I have a feeling nee san was involved also”. 

“Hey, your sister is a tough woman. I rather not pissed her off. Have you seen how she can flip a full grown man over her shoulder and pinned them down with her foot!”. 

“Heh. You haven’t seen anything yet from her”. 

The two stared at each other before bursting out laughing. Their laughs echoed in the mirror chamber, leaving others thinking something must be wrong with them. 

~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ 

_Winter break (Basically the first few chapters of episode 4)_

Leona waved goodbye to the first years after he stepped through the mirror. He breathed in the warm air of Afterglow Savannah. He was in the room where the mirror linked to NRC is. He let out a sigh and opened the door. 

“UNCLEEEEE!”. 

Leona groaned at the first annoyance. He caught Cheka in his arms when the cub jumped into it. Not a second later, Farena came storming through with a loud laugh. Leona let himself resign to his brother’s crushing hug. His brother’s wife was next to pat his cheeks and coo at him. 

Leona yelled at them and flung Cheka to Farena. Yelling about letting him change. Once in his room, he let out a sigh of relief. Changing into comfortable and lighter clothes, Leona strolled out from his room. He stopped short when he saw his father. 

Both males stared at each other. It’s been a while since Leona saw his father. The old king has more grey hair in his orange mane. His green hues looked tired and worn but there was something else in them. 

_Regret._

That slightly shook Leona deep down. His father regrets something and he has a feeling it’s something about him. 

“You look well”, his father began first. 

Leona nodded back with a soft grunt. His hand clenched into a tight fist. The two of them stared awkwardly at each other, unsure of how to continue. Years of being estranged with each other has caused a rift between the father and son. 

“Pffttt, hahahahahha! You both look so weird like that!”, Leanna suddenly burst out laughing from behind Leona. 

“Leanna”, their father sighed. 

“Nee san”, Leona growled. 

The two males had said her name the same time. Both blinked at each other and looked away. Leanna rolled her eyes. She ruffled Leona’s mane and walked over to loop her arm with her father’s. 

“Father, your grandson has been wanting to annoy you”, she grinned. 

“Leanna, don’t”, he growled. 

Of course his daughter would ignore his warning. As much as their father loves his grandson, he likes to spend some quiet time to himself and with his wife. He was about to see Zuri when Leona walked out from the room. 

“I’m about to see - “.

“Ah, ah. Nope. Grandson first then nii sama needs to ask you something then later you can hang out with mama!”. 

Their father had a look of being so done but listened to his daughter. He loves her too much. Leanna turned back to smile at Leona. 

“Mama is in the private garden. You know which one she likes”.

Before anyone could leave, their father spoke again. Voice low and soft that the siblings almost couldn’t hear it. 

“it’s good to have you home, my son”. 

Leona blinked and soon he saw his sister dragging their father away. Leona glanced at them one last time before heading off to see one last person. He reached the garden that their mother likes. All the flowers and plants were something that she grew herself. Leona briefly heard that their father had cared for the garden when Zuri was in a coma. 

In the middle of the garden, sitting in a chair where the small waterfall was splashing cooling droplets of water around, sat Zuri. Her back was facing Leona but seeing her made his heart clenched painfully. 

Zuri was sitting underneath the tree. Enjoying the cool shade when her ears swiveled at approaching footsteps. She didn’t need to know who. A small smile graced her lips. Leona stood in front of her. Their eyes met and Leona bent down unto one knee and gently took his mother’s hand into his. 

It was the scarred hand he took. It pained him to see the cracks on her arm. Zuri’s other hand ran through his mane gently. Leona laid his head on her lap as she kept carding her fingers through them. No words were said for now. Just mother and son soaking each other's presence. 

“Welcome back”, Zuri said, eyes closed with a gentle smile. 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

“ **_I’m home”._ **

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Well,..... that was fun. *evil laughter* Joking.  
> Am toying of the idea of making deaged Leona hang out with the other dorm heads in shots. What do you think?? 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!! XD


End file.
